Lest We Forget
by bexie25
Summary: Bella lives through memories she'd rather forget on the worst day of her existence. But on the 97th year after ANZAC day... will she find the one thing she needs to survive? Will she find her lost soldier? Twoshot, Rated M. Lemon in 2nd chapter.
1. Long Lost Love

**Hello!**

**So, here's an interesting little two-shot. **

**This is an ANZAC day fic that I thought of during the ANZAC ceremony our school had.**

**For those of you who don't know what ANZAC is, here's an explanation:**

**ANZAC = Australian New Zealand Army Corps  
On this day, above all days, we remember those Australian men and women who died or suffered in the great tragedy of war.  
On the morning of April 25th, 1915, Australia and New Zealand troops landed under fire at Gallipoli, and it is in this violent campaign that the ANZAC tradition was forged.  
The elements of that tradition have inspired and offered an example to all the generations of Australians that have followed.  
Each year we show our respect and give thanks to not only to those original Anzac's but to all who died or were disable in their service to this country.  
Their hope was for freedom and we remember with pride, their courage, their compassion and their mateship. These men and women served on land and sea and in the air, in many place throughout the world.  
Not only do we honour the memory of those Australians who have died in battle but we share the sorrow of those who have lost their dearly loved members of their family.  
On this day we remember with sympathy those Australians who suffered as prisoners of war, and those who, because of war, have had their lives shortened or handicapped.  
May we and the future generations prove to be worthy of their ultimate sacrifice. **

**So yeah. If you didn't know before, well then you do now… I'm an Aussie, people!**

**This video is very important, it's a piece of music that is played during the ceremony as part of the commemoration. Here's the link:**

**The Last Post - .com/watch?v=gRqMMaCZfHI (YOUTUBE VIDEO)**

* * *

"Bells, come on!" Emmett called, banging so hard on my bedroom door – on the third floor, the largest and only room on the floor besides a bathroom… which was also mine – that I feared said door would dislodge from its hinges.

I sighed, knowing exactly what he and my other 'siblings' were trying to do. They'd been hedging towards this for a week, yet I had ignored it thinking that they would surely understand and know that I would not be a part of or be able to do anything on the day of this occasion in particular. They usually did. "Emmett, I've already told you that I'm not going. I refuse to do so and you all know _why_."

It was really started to anger me… their insistence. Sure, it had been a long time since it happened – ninety-seven years to the day, in fact – but that didn't mean that I would suddenly be able to participate in activities that surrounded the occasion. The day they would be celebrating today just so happened to be the worst day of my existence – human or otherwise.

"Come on, Bells!" Emmett whined loudly – as was his way - and I just _knew _that he would not give up, would not _budge_. And that aggravated me to no end… after all these years of their understanding, why would they suddenly just stop? How could they do this to me?

And yet, Emmett – the goof-ball he was – continued on in his persuasion. "That new dude – remember, Alice said he was a vampire? – well, he's coming today and we're gonna need you… and your shield… so you can see if your shield picks anything iffy up; we need you there to protect us in case he's some dangerous guy or something."

I growled. The shit – though I was sure that it was not in fact _him _that had decided to play with my characteristics, but rather _Alice_ the deadly little pixie – was using my protectiveness against me.

And I knew that he – and everyone else – would not give up on this. They wanted me there and would use anything against me until I agreed.

So I decided to make it easier for them.

"Ugh, _fine!_"

I got up, leaving the vice that I had been using to calm the pain – even just a _little_ measure of that pain – and dressed myself quickly. This was an important day and it had been decided that all students had to wear something formal for the day. I dressed in a black pencil skirt that had a slit of approximately ten centimetres at the back. I coupled that with a deep blue chemise – my darling's favourite colour on me – that's sleeves were elbow length. It was of a flowing style; not form-fitting and I wore black, small heels.

I flitted over to my jewellery box, opening it and looking down at the precious things that I kept within said box. I got a chain that had a small pendant on it, slipping the pendant off and kissing it before sliding the beautiful rings – which were a symbol of my love and commitment to my darling – onto the chain. My breath hitched as I hooked the necklace around my neck, lifting the rings to my mouth. I closed my eyes, fighting the stinging venom and the tightening of my throat as I kissed each ring before letting them fall to their place over my heart.

"I love you, my darling," I whispered to myself, my eyes still closed.

And then I took a breath, looked over to my beloved's possessions, things that I'd been drowning myself in. They included his diary – something I often read just to be that much closer to him – his uniform, his medals and his clothes. Everything that I had of his was there on that bed, somehow still smelling just a little like him.

I left the room, walking down the stairs as I ignored the rest of them. It only made it that much harder, seeing the three pairs of happy, _alive _couples that would have each other for eternity.

I waited outside, trying desperately to just… not hear a thing. I didn't want to hear their loving whispers, their concerned whispers or their love for one another. I did not want any of it… I only wanted my heart, my love.

Something I could not have… _ever_ again.

Emmett was the first to come out and he smiled approvingly at what I was wearing. I frowned and look down, kicking at the pebbles. When he reached me, he wrapped an arm around me but I just could not stomach it and I forced myself away from him and his comfort… for he did not know what I was feeling; not even half of it.

"Come on, Bells," he whispered, sadness colouring his voice.

I frowned to myself, facing the other way. But then I just had to say something, even if it were just a mere whisper. "You all know how hard this day is for me," I said, the venom stinging my eyeballs again. I was expressionless, emotionless but for the pain that saturated everything; every word and every action. I turned to look at Emmett and he was serious, the usual joking child within him nowhere to be seen. "You know how much this _hurts_," I said, voice breaking on that last word. My voice grew fiercer and fiercer, hysterical and angry all at the same time. "So why? Why are you doing this to me?"

He frowned and I could tell that he himself was nearly crying. I knew I certainly was, in the vampire way. "It's been ninety-seven years, Bells. _Ninety-seven years_… we just want you to be happy… to move on." He was pleading with me as he looked up, but I could only feel anger and hurt and betrayal – both done to me and me doing to my darling – and endless pain. "Dammit Bells, every vampire has another half – they have a-"

"_Don't say it!" _I shrieked and he flinched. My eyes were fire with my anger and I looked at him, broken. "Don't you _dare_ say it! There isn't anyone else for me," I said in disgust; the mere thought of finding another to love and _be _with was sickening to me. It felt as if by doing so I would be committing the blackest of betrayals to my long lost love. "The only one that I could ever love _died _on this day… ninety seven years ago!"

And with that, I opened the back passenger car door and climbed in, slamming the door shut behind me. I sat there, unable to pull myself away from at least the one hundredth memory since last night…

_**~oOo~**_

"_Bella, my love," my darling husband, Edward Masen called as he came through the door._

_I smiled to myself as I cut up the potatoes and other vegetables we would eat for dinner. "I'm in the kitchen, my love."_

_Edward entered the room not a few seconds later and he immediately swept me away from the counter, pulling me into his arms. I smiled, giggling happily as he pressed sweet kisses to just about every inch on my face. _

_When he leaned back, he was smiling dazzlingly at me. I smiled to myself, happy to see him happy as I cupped his cheek. "And what made you greet me like that, dear?"_

_He chuckled. "I bring good news."_

_This piqued my interested and I cocked my head to the side, my brows drawing together. He kissed my nose, murmuring something that I barely caught to himself before he took a deep breath. "Bella, darling, I've decided to enlist."_

_He was smiling, beaming, though I had no idea why. This was not a good idea. Though most Australians wanted to fight for the mother country, it was simply… inconceivable for me to want Edward there. I had heard stories of previous wars… men died and didn't come home. _

_My hand fell from his face and I turned around and continued to cut the vegetables up, willing myself to remain composed._

_I frowned as I threw myself momentarily into the work; momentarily because by then, Edward had seemed to catch that I was not happy. He moved himself so that he was against me and gripped my hands, sliding them off and away from the food and knife. I breathed in deeply, knowing that he was going to want face-to-face eye contact. He did not surprise me, turning me around to face him. He frowned, his lips separated as he cupped my cheek._

"_What is wrong?" He asked me softly, still frowning, his good mood now gone. He traced my lip carefully, sweetly and brushed the tears that had begun to fall away. "I thought you would have been happy."_

_I frowned, "happy?" I whispered, unable to control my reaction. "Edward, surely you understand- intelligent as you are – this is no game; _war _is no game. Men die fighting Edward… and I will not lose you to that. I could never live my life if I did."_

_He frowned. "Love, I must fight for-"_

"_Yes, you must fight for the mother country, I know," I quipped, anger and panic warring within me. I gripped his shirt in my hands, pleading with him. "Please, my darling… surely you understand. I cannot lose you… not to the war… not this young with everything that is waiting for us."_

_He leaned his forehead against mine. "Oh my love, surely you see that for us to have that future, I _must _fight. They need strength, my love… they need men who can fight, and _I_ can _fight_."_

_A sob ripped itself out of me and I let go of him, walking to the door of the kitchen. I turned halfway to look at him, his face just as pained as mine. "If you must then."_

_And then I left the room, making my way to our bedroom, lying down amongst the sheets and pillows._

_I did not leave the room that night and I was still awake when Edward climbed in after me, curling himself around me._

_I cried silent tears to sleep._

_**~oOo~**_

"Why are they even doing a service?" I asked sullenly, pulling myself from the car. As soon as I did so, everyone's eyes were on me. For some reason, everyone in this school – especially those of the male specimen – were… interested in me. They found me interesting.

I tried to ignore them as I continued my irrationally rational rant – irrationally rational simply because in my heated anger and generally sullen mood, I found it rational to ask. "This is America we're talking about; Americans weren't involved in ANZAC… most don't even know what it is!"

Rose obviously found this statement amusing, as did her mate and husband, Emmett. "_Because _the school captain – and her family for that matter; remember they are very important to the school… even if they only moved over from Australia last year – were outraged to find that such an occasion wasn't in the school's events. They've set it up to be the most unorthodox yet traditional occasion of the year." She thought for a moment about what she said, then laughed. "Well, that's what that moron of a father said."

I sighed, closing my eyes. "And remind me just one more time why _I _have to go?" I asked, still not opening my eyes. I could feel my throat as it tightened, I could feel the venom stinging in my eyes as it formed tears that would never fall. "You know how hard this is for me and I've never had to even go to _school_ on this day… so why now?"

Jasper shrugged, smiling as he came toward me. He wrapped an arm around my shoulder, a sign of comfort that only hid what he was really doing. I could feel the emotions that he was trying to send me – ones that had a much more… calm nature – as they penetrated my only half-activated shield. I didn't even bother fighting it. "I don't know, sis… in fact, none of us do. It was Alice that rallied us to get you here and she wouldn't even tell me. But I know her… if she's willing to put you through this much pain, it has to be for something worth it."

"Speaking of the little pixie," I said, looking around the school parking lot grounds. "Where is she?"

They all shrugged. Emmett was about to say something – and from his expression, I was sure it was going to be something _witty _– but then, the bell rang.

I groaned; squeezing my eyes shut, I fought against the pain, desperately trying to breathe and compose myself. It wasn't easy, and yet it never had been; breathing and composure had never really come to me since that day on the 25th of April, 1915.

"This ceremony, when is it?" I asked, but I already knew the answer… I was just dreading it.

"Now Bells," Emmett said and I could hear the sympathy in his voice… sympathy I did not want.

I sighed and swallowed, determination fighting for a place among the general discord and pain of my thoughts. "Ok, let's go."

"You sure?" Emmett asked and I glared up at him.

"You were the one who dragged me out of my room," I said, internally adding: _and away from my husband's things_. Emmett's face fell and I sighed again, immediately feeling sorry for the angry outburst. It wasn't Emmett's fault; it was no one's fault. I was just… too high strung in my emotions. "Besides, if we don't go now,_ I_ won't go at all."

Jasper was good to me as we walked in to the gym, the only room big enough for such a ceremony. He knew that I would need his help at the exact same time as not wanting it. A part of me wanted to live in the memories and the pain for a little while, needing the connection to my long lost husband; the love of my life. And besides, having also been in the war – only, he was involved in the Civil War of the 1860's – he knew what the pain and devastation of death could do to someone.

We filed in in silence, my family all helping me as the kept their silence – a symbol of their respect. Over the years, they had seen the photos that we had of my darling Edward and me - we were of a wealthier class, one that could afford the occasional photograph – and they had come to respect him and love him in a way. They knew he was an irrevocable part of me.

Some, however, were not as respectful and reverent and anger filled my being as I eyed them. I could hear them as they chatted happily and animatedly about a date that one of them had been on the night before. They were ignoring everyone around them, giggling as they whispered to each other, thinking no one could see them or hear them.

Jasper had to literally hold me back from snapping their necks. They were so obnoxious, not holding even a little composure and reverence for those who had died all those ninety-seven years ago. I looked down, biting my lip, thinking to my beloved.

_I am sorry for my actions, my love… it just feels wrong for them to be speaking about such things during a time like this._

Oh, how I wished my Edward could hear me… could love me.

"The new dude's not here yet," Emmett whispered and my head snapped up and around, a growl slipping through my teeth. That willed him back into silence and I swallowed, again look down, ashamed of my erratic behaviour.

Jasper, having felt all of my emotions – as much of a flurry as they were – squeezed my hand before letting it go as he sent some more calming emotions toward me. I welcomed them for a moment before blocking them, needing to feel what I would surely feel during this service.

When we reached our desired seats, we sat down silently. I looked down at my hands, which were now playing with the beloved rings on the chain. Oh, how I longed to have them in their rightful place – on my finger – to show that I was taken and in love and would always be. They hadn't been there since the fifties – I had fought to keep them until at least then – and I missed the feeling of them resting safely on the third finger of my left hand as they should have been… as was intended for them.

And then… the new vampire student walked in the room.

It was strange, the feeling that flooded through me at the smell of his scent. It was somehow familiar yet I had no idea how that was even possible. The only vampire's that I really knew were the ones of my family – both those of the Cullens and those of the Denalis.

I shuddered, waiting for the feeling of guilt that was sure to come over me.

But it never came.

I did not have time to mull over this confusing reaction however, as the ceremony started.

"Hello," Sasha Freeds, the Australian school captain said. Her accent – unlike mine – shone through with every word and I smiled in spite of myself. "And welcome to our first ANZAC Day ceremony for 2012."

I was suddenly pulled into another memory and I choked on my own breath – silently – as it overtook me…

_**~oOo~**_

"_My love, I must go," Edward said quietly as he held me in my arms. I was clinging to him, terrified of letting him go only to never see him again._

"_No," I whispered uselessly; my small cry of protest broke my husband and he gripped me all the harder._

"_I love you, my darling," he said and I breathed in and out deeply a few times before looking him in the eyes. He gripped both sides of my face, looking into my eyes and the pain I saw in his nearly killed me. "I loathe seeing you like this."_

_I sobbed just one, lowly sob at that before shaking my head, trying to free myself from these horrid feelings. "I love you."_

_He smiled through tears, "I love you."_

_And then his lips descended upon mine, and for the briefest moment, I allowed myself to experience the heaven. It was only a little glimpse of what we'd had all night; oh yes, my darling had made sweet love to me over and over, assuring me that he would come back… that he would live for me, so that he could experience that with me once again._

_But then he stopped kissing me and I whimpered as he leaned his forehead against mine. "You are my home, Bella… where else am I going to go?"_

_I threw my arms around him one last time, kissing his cheek and squeezing him to me. "Come back home to me."_

_He leaned back and smiled, "I will, my dear."_

_And then he walked away… for the last time._

_He did not return._

_**~oOo~**_

They ran through the traditional beginnings and I listened faithfully, gripping the rings that were on the chain around my neck. My arms had folded under my breasts, making it easier for me to grip the rings just loose enough for them to not disintegrate in my hand.

After the entrance of the flags and such, then the explanation of why ANZAC day was important, Sasha's father took to the microphone.

My breathing stopped.

This part here, this part was the hardest. Because the way that they spoke of those soldiers… those men… it was heartbreaking.

I gripped the rings just a little tighter, closing my eyes as they began. But I knew every word, and so I whispered the words along with Sasha's father.

"_They went with songs to the battle, they were young._

_Straight of limb, true of eyes, steady and aglow._

_They were staunch to the end against odds uncounted,_

_They fell with their faces to the foe._

_They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old:_

_Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn._

_At the going down of the sun and in the morning,_

_We will remember them."_

By this stage I was barely able to speak, I was in so deep… surrounded my memories that taunted and haunted, making me want to laugh and cry at the same time. I remembered the time we had met, the time we had admitted our love… our first kiss and first time of intimacy on our wedding night. I remembered it all.

And then I whispered those last three words…

"_Lest we forget_."

The hall fell into silence as Sasha played _The Last Post _on a school trumpet. My eyes closed, my throat tightening and my shoulders shook with sobs… quiet ones, though they were no less painful.

I faintly heard someone get up and fly out of the room, running so fast that the only person it could possibly be was the new vampire. Listening to the sound of their quick steps, for some strange reason my whole being just needed to go right after them.

I couldn't handle it any longer. It was a sudden choice between fight or flight and I chose flight. I got up from my chair and nearly ran out of the hall.

I leaned against the wall outside, around the corner, and finally… _finally_… I gave in to sobs, the despair and the pain.

And then the memory… that finally, horrible one… came to me and I could not fight it…

_**~oOo~**_

_I woke up to a banging on the door. _

_I startled and looked around me, wondering what time it was. I did not have a watch or clock – my wrist watch had malfunctioned just the week before – and so I had no idea._

_The banging did not cease and so I got up, grabbing my robe from the wardrobe, and wrapping it around me. It was a cold night, 25__th__ of April… so close to winter._

_I made my way to the door and opened, smiling when I saw soldiers there. _

"_Hello," I said, smiling._

_But they did not smile back, which scared me… it made me feel as if… as if something was wrong. _

_My smile dropped from my face as I looked between them, their sombre faces simply… following me._

"_Ma'am," the one on the left said and I looked up at him carefully. "May we come in, please?"_

_My mouth opened as I nodded, but nothing came out. I stepped aside and opened the door wider, letting them walk on through the threshold._

_I followed them through to the living room. "Please, sit," I said, trying to smile but I felt sick to my core. Something was wrong, I knew it. I just _knew _it._

_They did and there was a very, very uncomfortable silence for a few moments. _

_Finally, the one that had asked to be let inside spoke again. "Your husband was a great man," he said thoughtfully, almost as if he hadn't meant to say it._

_I smiled. "Yes he-" and then I paused, remembering just _what _he said. And everything stopped. Breathing… smiling… everything was just… _gone_. I closed my eyes, tears already prickling as my sub-conscious realized what the rest of me would never accept. "Was?"_

_The other man, who had not spoken, looked up with a sad, sad smile on his face. "Mrs Masen, your husband was…"_

_And then I was falling… I couldn't breathe, couldn't speak… I could only hear snippets of what he said. Things like:_

"… _Honourable intentions…"_

"_Fought and trained his hardest…"_

"… _Spoke of you fondly"_

_These were all phrases that made me smile…_

_But then…_

_Then they said more _difficult _things to hear…_

"_There was a tough call…"_

"_Dangerous… but your husband wanted to do it."_

"_He was our best runner, we only chose the best runners to go to those sectors…"_

"_It was an important message…"_

"_Taken by surprise…"_

"… _Shots fired from nearly every direction…"_

"_Last words were of you and how he loved you…"_

"_He died… I'm sorry for your loss."_

The phrase repeated itself over and over like a horrid record player that was broken.

"_He died… I'm sorry for your loss."_

"_He died… I'm sorry for your loss."_

"_He died… I'm sorry for your loss."_

"No!_" I shrieked, standing from my chair. I looked desperately at them as they got up and came toward me. My breathing was harsh, my body aching with the pain of what they had just said… _

"_No, no, no! _Edward_!" I screamed as they took a hold of me, trying to comfort me._

_But their arms were not the ones that wanted._

_The arms that I would now never feel wrapped around me again._

"_Edward, please!" I screamed, crying hysterically as my knees buckled in the weight of my grief._

"_Edward, no!"_

"_Edward, please!"_

"_EDWARD!"_

_**~oOo~**_

I gasped, now sobbing hysterically on the floor as I came out from the memory. It bounced around in my head, torturing me over and over.

But then I was just sucked into other memories… little phrases… not attached to each other.

Just little, detached memories from a life time ago.

_**~oOo~**_

"_I'm sorry for you loss, dear…"_

"_He was a great man… so very caring and loving."_

"_He loved you more than anything…"_

_If he did then why did he leave me here... alone?_

_I looked at myself in the mirror before turning to face the doctor, Doctor Carlisle Cullen. "Why did you do this to me?" I cried. "All I wanted was to be with my Edward… why did you take away that chance?"_

"_I'm sorry."_

"_I'm sorry."_

"_I'M SORRY!"_

_**~oOo~**_

"Oh Edward," I cried to myself, looking up and wishing to see him there. "I miss you so."

"Bella?" A voice called and I stilled, freezing in place against the wall.

Because I knew that wall… it was the voice of the love that I had lost ninety-seven years ago today.

The only voice that could ever call me Bella and make me melt.

* * *

**Yeah.**

**I'll be back soon with the continuation. There will be NO Edward POV. Sorry.**

**Anyways, give me some love and let me know what you thought/think of this little thing. I quite like it and I definitely cried editing it. :D**

**Please review**

**bexie25**


	2. Found?

**Greetings**

**Here's the last chapter of this two shot. I've loved writing it, and I'm quite sad that it's not continuing, but I think the ending is what it should be.**

**I hope you feel that way too.**

**Thank you for your response, I'm glad that you liked this little tale of Lostella and Soldierward as much as I have.**

**Maybe, you never know, I'll give a little future-shot. Who knows!**

**So without further ado, please go on to read the last chapter of _Lest We Forget._**

**Oh and the banner - made by the lovely WhiteWolfLegend - is on my photobucket - go check it out, it's brilliant!**

* * *

I looked at the man before me, studying him.

He was clearly a vampire, meaning that he was the vampire that had exited the room before. His hair was bronze, unruly and long; my fingers itched to touch it, to run my fingers through it over and over again, repeatedly.

His eyes were the same as mine, but they held a deep pain within them… telling me that there was something that was torturing him; I wanted nothing more than to erase what that something was.

His face, pale and sure to be hard – to humans that is, to a vampire another vampire's skin was pliable and soft – was so devastatingly beautiful; it was the face of a man who had great courage… a man that had been through hell and back and somehow survived…

… It was the face of a man that I knew… and knew well.

A gasp escaped me as I realized what my mind had already concocted and accepted.

This was him; this was my soldier.

He'd finally come home to me.

"Edward?" I asked, my mind still coming to grips with even the possibility that the single love of my life was really here, now, in this very moment. My fingers twitched, aching to just reach out across the few little inches of distance and touch him.

I reached out toward him, gasping sobs breaking and rattling through my body. His eyes seemed to melt, and smoulder as they watched me and my every move.

"Please," I whispered, almost to myself as I closed my eyes. "Dear God, if this is some mighty dream or a pile of hallucinations of some sort then grant me permission to touch him."

"You needn't ask God, my love," Edward's voice sounded and I wrenched my eyes open only to find his face right there in front of me, his every sweet breath fanning onto my face. "I'm real, my darling; this isn't a pile of hallucinations, nor is it a dream. I'm here."

"Oh god," I choked, looking up at him, my love for him – and his for me – shining through in our expressions. "You're here? You're real?"

He smiled, closing his eyes as the sweet nectar of bliss crossed his face. "Yes, my love, I'm finally here with you. God, I can't believe I've finally found you."

"Found me?" I whispered, a smiling coming across my face at the thought. My Edward had been looking for me all these years. "You were looking for me?"

He looked down at me, opening his eyes, a bizarre look of disbelief there. "Of course I was. I never forgot you, my Bella." He said and I smiled to myself as he continued. "Darling, I thought I was going crazy without you. During the war, I thought of you so often. I dreamed of you and spoke of you all the time; it was starting to aggravate the boys, actually."

He laughed and I couldn't help but join it. It felt so strange, to be laughing whole heartedly… especially with Edward here, talking to me. "I imagine it would have, sweetheart," I said and I smiled when he bent his head to look at me through his eyelashes. They were longer than I had remembered from my measly and flawed human memories, but they were so similar in ways that shocked me.

But I couldn't help but laugh when just a lock of his gorgeous, thick hair fell to his forehead, nearly in his eyes… I brushed it out of the way.

Edward purred and I gasped at the sound. He was beautiful and handsome when he was human, and the sounds he'd made in any situation had always been endearing – at times very deliciously arousing amongst _other _things – but as a vampire it was a wholly different experience.

I was now having trouble stopping myself from rubbing my thighs together; he was just so sinful in his seduction… it was marvellous.

But what was better was that he didn't even know he was doing it. That had always been the way with Edward and I was glad that that had maintained through his change and over the years.

_Over the years… _my mind repeated and I sighed as an unwelcome possibility wafted through to my brain.

Edward noticed my distress and frowned. "What's wrong, darling?"

"Have you-" I stopped, knowing that I would need to rephrase. It was already hard enough to ask and I was terribly afraid of the answer. "It's been _many _years since the war, Edward," I stressed.

"Yes, yes it has," he said, shifting closer to me, if that were even possible. "Love, just come out with it... What are you trying to ask?"

A huff of breath escaped me and I thought to myself, _well, now's as good a time as ever_.

"Uh, well," I said, still struggling. I closed my eyes and just… said it. "Have you been with another woman? It's been ninety-seven years, Edward and I know that men have urges that they need to fulfil…"

A finger silenced me and I gasped, opening my eyes only to see a very angry and confronted Edward.

"My darling," he said slowly, looking at me as his finger fell away from my lips. "Are you really suggesting that I have been intimate with someone other than you?"

I swallowed. "Well, I-"

His finger silenced me again. "The answer is _no_, my darling. I have never made love to anyone other than you. You are my love; it is impossible – not to mention _painful _– to think of being with anyone other than you." But that was when he looked with me, curiosity shining brightly in his eyes… as well as a little worry. "Have _you_…?"

I stopped him from proceeding any further. "Never and I never will. I would never dishonour our wedding vows."

Edward looked at me, hurt by what I said. "And you think I would? Do you doubt my love for you?"

I suddenly felt incredibly guilty, so guilty I couldn't look at him, so I looked down. But his hand was there under my chin and he made me look at him. "My darling, I have loved you since the first moment that I saw you. And I will love you until the end of my existence… or rather, until the earth stops spinning. I love you, Bella."

I whimpered, smiling as venom stung in my eyes. "I love you too, Edward. And I'm sorry I made you think I ever doubted your love and that you would ever be with someone else. I don't know what I was thinking because I know you love me; I have always known that. And I, too, have loved you since the second I first laid eyes on you. The only thing that kept me sane the last ninety-seven years was your things."

His brow crinkled as he smiled at me. "You have my things?"

I smiled, looking down at his hands. "Yes, of course I do. I could never give them away or sell them. I have everything of yours. I have your diary – which I still read often, by the way – and I have some of your plain clothes, your work clothes, your briefcase… I have every gift you ever gave me. I have pictures of you, as well; of our wedding day and your baby pictures." I smiled as I flicked through them in my mind, but then I breathed in deeply. "They sent me your uniform… and your medals… and all the things you had with you there in Gallipoli."

My breath hitched at the name of the place where I'd thought my husband had died.

"I'm sorry," I said, burrowing into myself only to gasp when Edward pulled me into his arms, spinning us around slowly so that he was sitting against the wall with me in his lap.

I curled around him, fitting him like a glove as I marvelled at the feeling of being surrounded by him, of being in his arms again after all this time. It was like a dream, in which I was floating only to be pulled down by what Edward said next.

"I had pictures of you, too, my darling," he whispered into my ear and I sighed as I leaned my head on his shoulder, looking up at him. I wasn't all that surprised. I knew my husband. Now that he was here, it only made sense that he had had something of me on his person for the years that we had been apart. Even as a human when he went to work, he had done so. He always had something of me to remind him. "I still do."

I looked down at his hands and gasped. Sitting there, on his left hand's third finger, was the wedding ring that I had put on him. I traced it, feeling Edward's lips on my temple. My hands or perhaps my entire _body_ was trembling as I traced the symbol of our love over and over again, revelling in the sight of it.

"Oh Edward," I cried happily, looking up at him. He was smiling down at me, also emotional. "You still have your ring…"

I looked at it, stared at it and then at him, alternating constantly. I was just so happy…

… _Until_ Edward took my hand, obviously looking for _my _ring.

Of course, he did not know that the rings that he had given me were around my neck on the chain – as they always were when we were in public… when we weren't, they were on my finger – that had held the beautiful little necklace that he had given me on our first anniversary. It was our first of three as humans – first of two that we had celebrated together, the last one having been a few weeks after he'd died – meaning that this year, in a matter of weeks, would be our one hundredth wedding anniversary.

Something that now made me exceedingly happy.

"Where are your rings, my darling?" He asked and I looked up at him, smiling. He seemed hurt but that changed when he saw my smile; when he saw it, he became _very _confused.

I chuckled and kissed his nose; he had always been adorable and somehow very arousing in his handsomeness when he was confused. My hand reached up to the chain around my neck, bringing it to his attention and his hand came up to hold it, my rings resting against his palm. I smiled at the sight then looked at his face, watching him as he stared at the rings he had given me for a moment before looking up at me.

I had always been able to read him and so I knew instantly what I wanted. It was so sweet and loving that I nearly cried, nodding at him. He smiled to himself as he reached around to the back of my neck and unclasped the necklace. It fell away, quickly caught by my husband's hands.

He smiled as he slid the rings off the chain and looked between the rings and me, before sighing. "Dear Lord, how I've wanted to do this again. How I've _longed _to do this again… and now I can."

And then he grasped my left hand with his own left hand and we looked at each other for a sweet, sweet moment.

And when he slid the rings onto my finger, my breath hitched and I couldn't help but throw myself at him. Our lips collided and we were swept away in the greatest and most all-consuming kiss of our time together.

_Ever_.

I moaned, my finger reaching up to thread through his hair and he groaned, his tongue darting forcefully but sweetly through his lips and in through mine.

The feeling of our tongues meeting made me whimper; this was what I had day dreamed and, when I was human, dreamed of doing since that horrible morning that he left for the war.

And I was finally feeling it again. I was finally here with my love, and in this moment, I wanted him. Dear _God, _did I want him.

Edward growled when he felt my core grind down on his erection. I was shameless; this was a new age, but it was also the desperation to be one once again with my husband after all these years.

"Edward, _please_," I moaned against his lips. We were both panting as we looked at each other, reading the other and what they were thinking.

He frowned. "And to think that I can read every mind I've ever come across… except the one I want to hear so dearly."

"You read minds?" I asked, my mind flying at the possibility of what he must have heard over the years.

He smiled, nuzzling his nose against mine. "Mm-hmm," he breathed, his breath once again fanning across my face and I inhaled it gladly, smiling at the sweetness of the taste.

It made me forget my own name… it made me forget everything besides him and me and what was happening right now.

I moaned as he kissed me again, barely feeling it when he lifted us off the ground, holding me and cupping my ass with his hands as he took off, away into the forest.

We kissed and kissed as he ran us through the trees and I could feel his smile as I nipped at his lips, smiling myself.

I laid my head on his shoulder tightening my legs and arms around his waist and neck. Our hair was flying behind us and the feeling of elated joy that passed through us as he ran us to a place that I didn't know was palpable.

I looked up at my soldier's face and was happy to the point of tears to see the smile that I had always loved as a human on his face. In his vampiric state, it was all the more beautiful.

And it made me want him so. Very. Much.

"Edward, stop," I whispered against his neck, leaning up to kiss the tender spot behind his ear.

Somehow, this was all different. As humans, Edward and I had known each other's bodies like the back of our hands; we knew what made each other squirm, whimper and moan, groan and scream in pleasure.

Now, it was all different. Nearly a hundred years on, we were both vampires that would have to learn those reactions all over again.

And I knew that we would not mind at all.

Edward slowed, eventually coming to a stop just as we reached a creek that I had never seen before. It was in a pool of sunlight, all around it were beautiful flowers; blue, purple and yellow.

Beyond the flowers, into the not-too-far distance was the end of the cliff. It was facing the east, meaning that this would perhaps be the best place in Forks to view the sunrise.

But we were not paying attention to the surroundings; only each other. Edward moved to put me down and I let him, staring into his eyes. I was mesmerised, as I had often become by doing this… by staring at my lovely man.

"I love you," he whispered and I closed my eyes in bliss at hearing those words again. I swear that I would never get enough of it, especially now after all that we had been through.

"I love you," I whispered back, reaching up on my tippy toes to be level with him. Well, as much as my 5'4" could with his 6'2".

He smiled back at me and dipped down _oh _so slowly to kiss me. I leaned up at the same time, and as our lips met, we both smiled.

What started off as a sweet, reuniting, loving kiss soon became a kiss that was like the one we'd had after he'd slid my rings back on. It became a kiss of fire, need and desperation, and soon whimpers and growls of need and lust resounded within the small clearing.

"I need you," Edward whispered against my lips, his hands trailing down my front.

I closed my eyes, venom stinging my eyes for a moment. I didn't reply; there was no need.

My breath hitched when Edward's hands reached the top of my skirt at my waist and I shuddered when Edward leaned down, his mouth open so I could feel his warm breath – warm to me because we were the same temperature everywhere – on my neck as he undid the bow there. His lips then touched my neck, caressing it finely as the skirt dropped to the ground, pooling at my feet.

I stepped out of it, arching my neck back and to my right so that he had better access to it.

This was going to be slow, I could feel it. And I loved my Edward for that all the more.

It continued on this way, Edward's lips at my neck, caressing and kissing as he slowly but surely undressed me down to my panties and bra.

Then I leaned back out of his arms just slightly so that I could undress him down to his underclothes.

And then, gone were his shirt, his shoes and his slacks; my blue shirt, my heels and my black skirt. We stood there, looking over one another for the first time in ninety-seven years.

We looked over the changes that the transformation from human to vampire had created. My hands drifted to Edward's muscled, chiselled chest, swallowing when he whimpered quietly and pulled me against him, into his arms.

My breath hitched at the feeling of us, our stomachs bare and touching and I wanted nothing more than to be one with him, in this instant.

"Edward," I whispered, leaning up to kiss his soft lips. Our heads cocked to opposite sides, our tongues delving together to meet in his mouth.

I moaned; his taste really was indescribable. Then again, it always had been.

His hands were all over me now; sweeping across my back, to my ass and then to my stomach only to glide up and between my breasts to cup my face.

My own hands wrapped around his waist, feeling the luscious skin there before my hands darted up his sides, to the back of his neck. I wrapped my arms around him tighter, gripping the hair at the back of his head and he pulled me against him even harder, making us moan.

We were never close enough; something we had distinguished even during our human years together.

I whimpered, needing totally bare skin against totally bare skin. Edward seemed to feel the same way, because he ripped off my bra and panties and then his boxers were gone, in tatters on the ground as well.

I moaned once again; he wouldn't believe how perpetually that turned me on.

We fell to the ground in a heap, all wrapped around each other. I smiled as I looked up at him, the sun on his skin making me gasp just as he did. We gazed at each other's bodies in wonder, never having seen anything as beautiful as what we were witnessing now.

"Dear God, love," Edward whispered, his hands cupping my full breasts. I moaned and whimpered, squeezing his waist with my legs as he rolled my nipples with his fingers, lovingly… softly…

It wasn't enough.

"More," I whispered and he smiled at me softly before his mouth descended on my left breast.

The breath in my body left me, my hands gripping at his hair as I moaned. Loudly.

This was like nothing I'd ever experienced.

This was pure, innocent and sweet bliss in its finest hours.

His tongue laved my breast and my nipple before sucking hard; he alternated between flicking licks, nips and sucking but all of it was amazing.

I was lost in sensation and for one moment, or perhaps a little longer, I wondered if anyone could come purely from this sweet torture that I was experiencing now.

If Edward was there partner, I was sure that he would.

I was surprised by the feelings that coursed through me in retaliation to that thought; possessiveness washed through me like a tsunami.

And so I couldn't help it when my mouth formed just _one_ word.

"Mine," I whispered and I felt and heard Edward's purr. He released my breasts and crawled up my body so that we were face to face before he lay down on top of me.

I sighed at the feeling of his complete body weight on me. It was a glorious feeling…

… one that I would be experiencing many, many more times in our forever.

The thought made me smile.

"Yours, my darling," Edward cooed lovingly and I bit my lip as his lips leaned down and kissed across my collarbone. But then he sucked on it, before biting it… making me growl… and then he growled. Looking up at me, his eyes a glorious, delicious black – as I was sure mine were too – he smiled like the sinful seductive man that he was. "But you are mine, as well," he whispered before unleashing the greatest of pleasures and the worst of tortures on me, all in one.

His lips wrapped around one of my nipples and I arched up into him, rubbing my core against his glorious erection… moaning at what I felt.

My Edward had never had problems when it came to love making or anything intimate. Something that – by the looks of it – had carried on into his second life, much to my extraordinary pleasure.

I purred, "Oh dear, so hard for me darling." My hand slipped down to his length and I stroked it, making him groan and growl like a fierce lion.

"Always, love," he grunted against me as he grinded against me. We worked together, the pleasure making all sorts of sounds come through our mouths.

"Darling, please," I said passionately, looking up at him when I just couldn't take it anymore. "I need you inside me. Now."

He smiled and nodded, and then in one full thrust… he entered me.

A sob burst through my lips at the feeling of being one with my love, my soldier, my husband again after all these years. Edward gasped, his back arching, his head thrown back with a look of amazement, joy, elation and love on his face.

I clung to him as he slowly pulled back so that just the tip of him remained within me, only for him to thrust just a little faster back into me.

It was heaven and we swallowed each other's sounds as our lips met.

My hands nestled into his hair as we kissed and made love. Before long, we had established our rhythm and with each time that our hips met, the slaps of our skin against each other, grinding against each other before pulling back, we climbed higher toward that place that we needed to reach… that heaven that was waiting for us.

"I love you, I love you, I love you," I whimpered against his lips as he drove into me, slowly increasing his speed, his thrusts getting harder and faster which each thrust he made.

Before long, we were so close; our tongues were dancing, our hands gliding across each other's smooth skin, gripping and gripping, eliciting moans and whimpers of utter pleasure.

And then Edward smiled against my lips, signally that he was going to do the one thing that he knew would get both of us over that awaiting edge.

His finger wandered down between the valley of my breasts, down my tightening and flexing stomach and abdomen to my bundle of nerves.

He pressed it; hard.

And I shouted my husband's name to the bright, bright sky, the sun and the clouds, Edward doing the same as we came together.

We remained in the small clearing all day and all night, getting acquainted with one another's body again and again until we knew it just as well – if not better – than we had as humans.

Hours later, we were sitting there in the clearing, still wrapped up in each other – Edward's length still nestled deep within me – watching the sunrise of the new day…

… of the new era.

I smiled as I leaned my head against Edward's shoulder, feeling content for the first time since my darling had left for the war.

We touched and caressed each other, our lips never leaving the other's skin as we watched the sunrise.

It truly was beautiful, ethereal.

These sunrises were longer than a million years old, at the very least… but it had never looked this beautiful – seeing it with our better, vampire eyes – because Edward had never been there.

And now he was, making it perfect… serene.

As the sun rose in the sky, we stayed there, in each other's arms.

Something came to me, as I sat here, wrapped in Edward's arms. A question that I had wanted to ask since I'd first seen him, but that I'd never asked, having been too busy to do so.

"Edward?" I whispered into the almost completely silent opening.

"Yes, my darling," he whispered against my shoulder before kissing it.

I purred before answering, "How?"

He knew what I meant immediately and sighed. "You know the circumstances do you not, my love?"

"I do," I said, looking at him.

He smiled. "Well, I was laying there for twelve hours, my darling. I was alive, but just barely and it was hot; ever so hot, making it terribly hard to so much as breathe. When night fell, it was so very silent and it smelled… terrible; most others were either dead or about to die, just as I was… my eyes were closed and I could only think of you."

He looked down at me and I swallowed, my face twisted in pain. He hushed me and kissed my temple, my cheeks before continuing. "But then, I was moving. The air was all around me, blowing against me before it stopped suddenly. And then there was a searing, blinding pain, as if I was burning from the inside out."

He looked down at me once again, smiling. "I clung to my memories of you all through my transformation, darling. I was so very determined, from the minute I woke up, to find you." He shook his head, but there was a smile on his face as he trailed his finger across and down my bare shoulder and arm. "If I had known that you were here, in America… oh, my love I would have found you years ago. As it was, I had combed the world for you, or so I thought and as time went on, I thought that maybe you had… died," his voice faulted on that last word, but he carried on in a whisper. "That perhaps I was too late, but still I did not give up, instead becoming just that much more determined to find you before time ran out."

I smiled at his sweetness and devotion to me, but it was then that a thought occurred to me. "How did it not cause suspicion the next day, when your body was missing?"

He chuckled, "well, my love I would imagine that each side thought that the other had taken my body for some reason. And since neither was exactly on speaking terms with one another…"

He trailed off and we laughed, the sensations doing something yet again to the way we were connected…

We lost ourselves in one another for a small matter of minutes, our need having already been there but just needed a small push to fall off and over the edge.

And when we were ready to face what was coming and leave our isolation, we got up and dressed in the remainder of yesterday's clothes – without any under clothing, as it had all been ripped off by my darling – before taking the other's hand.

Edward held me against his body and I sighed as he kissed me, the perfection of his lips never ceasing to amaze me.

"Come on, soldier," I whispered against his lips. "Let's start our forever."

He smiled down at me, the still rising sun casting strangely coloured glints across his skin. It was beautiful.

"We already have, my darling."

And then he kissed me, there in the clearing… and I knew.

Yes, our forever had already started, many years ago… I had just been made to wait for my soldier to come home.

And now, he had.

* * *

**Aww! Don't you just love happy endings? I love happy endings!**

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**:D**

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**bexie25**


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